Team

At Better Govs we help bridge the theory and the practice.

We believe public servants deserve high-quality, accessible and affordable training for effective policy implementation. Our site is devoted to sharing ideas, tools and resources to help you implement projects that transform lives.

Meet the amazing people that make this dream possible!

CEO and Founder

Sandra Naranjo Bautista

Sandra Naranjo Bautista

Sandra specialized in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. She founded Better Govs because she believes an effective government transforms lives. Her work and research have focused on helping governments work more efficiently and more effectively. Sandra works as a consultant for several international organizations including the World Bank and DFAT. She is also the former Acting Vice President and Minister of Planning and Development of Ecuador, her home country. 

Better Govs Fellows

Vinay Vadarevu, Better Govs Fellow 2023

Vinay aims to contribute to the socioeconomic development of his country.

Vinay Vadarevu

Vinay Vadarevu is a distinguished member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the premier civil service of India, since 2008. With a career spanning over 14 years, Vinay has held senior positions at the district level in Andhra Pradesh, where he has successfully implemented government policies. His areas of expertise encompass revenue and land administration, law enforcement, food security, comprehensive welfare programs, city management, urban planning, and the management of health insurance programs for the underprivileged. Before joining the IAS, Vinay worked as an accomplished Electrical Engineer in the private sector, but his passion for public service and his commitment to addressing societal challenges prompted him to pursue a career focused on making a positive impact on the nation’s development. Vinay is studying the MPAID program at the Harvard Kennedy School and holds a B.Tech in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s is Public Policy and Economics from Indira Gandhi National Open University.

Younmi Kim, Better Govs Fellow 2022

Younmi believes in the power of effective policies to make the world a better place.

Younmi Kim

Younmi worked in the Ministry of Economy and Finance of South Korea for the last 5 years. In the Ministry, she experienced policy design and implementation in the field of international development and economic cooperation, trade, industry, and innovation. 

Younmi is currently studying in the MPAID program at the Harvard Kennedy School. In addition, she studied Business Administration and Public Administration at Korea University.

Nico Maffey, Better Govs Fellow 2021

Nico is passionate about the impact of government policies on innovation, new technologies, and digital development.

Nico Maffey

Originally from Argentina, Nico has worked across the public, nonprofit, and private sectors, where he focused on economic and social development and digital transformation. 

He is also a writer for Data-Smart City Solutions at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. Most recently he served as a Digital Development Consultant for the World Bank, assisting government leaders in Africa on issues in agile regulation, tax reforms, and data privacy in the technology, media, and telecom sector. 

He is currently a student in the MPA-ID program at the Harvard Kennedy School, and holds an A.B. from Harvard College and an M.S. in Applied Economics from Di Tella University in Buenos Aires.

Guest contributors

Some of our blogs are written by guest contributors. Learn more about their work and interests.

Matt Andrews
Matt is Senior Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Faculty Director at Harvard’s Building State Capability Program. His research focuses on public sector reform, particularly budgeting and financial management reform, and participatory governance in developing and transitional governments.
Lea Giménez
Dr. Lea Giménez is the Division Chief of the Innovation in Citizen Services program at the Inter-American Development Bank. Prior to that, she was the first woman to be appointed Minister of Finance in Paraguay in June 2017 and was also the youngest finance minister in Latin America. Until then, she joined the Ministry of Finance as Vice Minister of Economy in 2016 and worked as an Economist in the World Bank’s Poverty and Macro-Fiscal Global Practices.
Mariano Lafuente
Mariano is a Lead Public Management Specialist in the IDB’s Innovation for Citizen Services Division. He specializes in human resource management in the public sector, center of government reforms, and performance management. Previously, he was a Public Management Specialist for the Latin American and Caribbean region at the World Bank. He has a degree in political science from Argentina’s Catholic University and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Edgardo Mosqueira
Edgardo is the Public Sector Management Cluster Coordinator at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Prior to joining the IDB, he was a Lead Specialist in the World Bank's Public Sector Management and Governance Global Practice. Previously, he served as Minister of State in Peru. Edgardo has a Law Degree and a Master's Degree in International Public Policy from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University.
Carlos Santiso
Carlos Santiso is the Director of the Digital Innovation in Government Directorate of the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the World Economic Forum’s Future of Trust and Integrity Project, part of the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI). He previously led the Innovation for Citizen Services Division of the Inter-American Development (IDB), served as Sector Manager for Governance at the African Development Bank (ADB), as a governance adviser to the Department for international Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, and as a senior program officer at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA).
Thea Snow
Thea is the Director of the Centre for Public Impact, a BCG Foundation, for Australia and New Zealand. With a strong theoretical and practical grounding in public policy, Thea has been recognized as a thought-leader in her field. In 2019, Thea was named as one of Apolitical's most influential public sector innovators. Thea spent nine years working across various strategic policy roles in the Victorian Public Service, including at the Executive levels. She was also part of Nesta's Government Innovation team.
Graham Teskey
Graham is the leader of Abt Associates’ Global Governance practice. Graham focuses on the governance aspects of international development. He is one of the one of the world-leading experts in the field with extensive experience in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the World Bank and the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID).
Michael Woolcock
Michael Woolcock is Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and Lead Social Development Specialist with the World Bank‘s Development Research Group. Michael’s work focuses on the social dimensions of economic development, in particularly the role of informal institutions in shaping the survival and mobility strategies of marginalized groups.